Meet the Adventurers of the Year: Astronaut John Grunsfeld

Voice from Outer Space: Astronaut John Grunsfeld

Around NASA, he’s known as “the Hubble Repairman.” And last May, on his third visit to the orbiting space telescope, John Grunsfeld pulled off the repair to end all repairs. Working at zero gravity some 350 miles above the surface of the Earth, the astronaut restored sight to a half-blind Hubble—called the greatest scientific instrument ever invented—and ensured that it will continue to send back the stunning images and mind-boggling data that have transformed our understanding of the universe.

Having just turned 51, Grunsfeld has spent his career championing manned space exploration. At a time when astronaut-led programs are being called into question, ADVENTURE tracked down Grunsfeld at the Johnson Space Center in Houston to learn about his May mission and why going manned matters. Read the story and view images >>

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Two weeks ago we announced the 2009 Adventurers of the Year, selected
for their extraordinary achievements in exploration, conservation,
action sports, and humanitarian work. Now, for the first time ever, you
can vote for the Readers' Choice Adventurer of the Year. To help you
get to know them, we are going to highlight a different adventurer
daily. You can only vote once, so make sure to check out each
adventurers' profile, video, and photo gallery, before firing up our voting machine.